The “As Seen On TV” Open Search: What Does it Mean?

How familiar are you with the As Seen on TV process? Like many things in life, As Seen on TV is more than what meets the eye. When it comes to submitting your product to our As Seen On TV (ASOTV) Open Search, the first thing that may come to mind is seeing your product in a DRTV spot. Many of you have even expressed to us that when we announce an Edison Nation member’s idea has reached stage G8 and will go into an ASOTV option period (like our most recent announcement for Edison Nation Member, Marvin Blaine) this is typically what is believed to be the next step.

While DRTV spots are certainly a large (and well-known) aspect of the ASOTV package, there are many steps that must take place between receiving an ASOTV option and reaching this stage. We sat down with Edison Nation ASOTV Director, Anna Curry and Intellectual Property Manager, Scott Dromms to answer your questions regarding what submitting to our As Seen on TV Open Search really means.

Q. How is an ASOTV search different from the typical Edison Nation Live Product Searches?

Scott: A typical Live Product Search or “LPS” is a sponsored search where a specific manufacturer or retailer has a specific product line/category of business that they are looking to feed innovation into. ASOTV, on the other hand, is a broad spectrum search for items that have a “WOW” appeal and can specifically address a problem, are a solution for the problem, and give a great demonstration of how the product solves the problem all in less than 2 minutes.

Q. If an inventor’s invention submission reaches stage G8 in an ASOTV search, will their product get its own infomercial?

Scott: Potentially yes, but not always. In a sponsored LPS, G8 means the sponsor has decided they want to “pursue” the commercialization of the product and they have licensed the rights to it. Is that a guarantee that the product will ultimately make it to market? Not necessarily. Occasionally a sponsor has changes that occur, like market shifts or development and pricing issues that could delay or even prevent full commercialization of the product. Our hope is that once a product reaches G8, it will be the start of a sales life for the idea. The ASOTV world is a world dictated by performance metrics and a product’s potential which can be learned through extensive analysis and extrapolation of those test metrics.

Anna: It’s important to note that during the “testing” period, if a challenge arises that prevents the product from moving forward, the inventor is notified, and options are discussed, which may include other options for commercializing the idea or a release of rights so that the inventor is free to market their product on their own.

Q. When you say “challenges,” what are you referring to?

Anna: The most common challenges are typically developmental in nature and/or issues with the cost of goods. If a campaign’s cost of goods are too high, a marketer’s ability to maintain profitability in a dynamic media environment is very difficult. For instance, on a week to week basis of a campaign, a marketer could be spending 200K-400K on their media buys. If on any given week, the consumer response shifts dramatically the campaign’s profitability is at risk. A weekly loss must be absorbed and if the margins are too tight this is not possible. Mitigating risk is where a marketer’s expertise comes into play.

Q. Suppose a submission reached stage G7 months ago, yet the inventor has not heard any feedback. What is happening during this time?

Anna: No feedback is a good sign. This means your product is still under evaluation. Oftentimes the Edison Nation ASOTV team is conducting market and product research to determine the best next steps. We always want to give your invention idea its best chance at success.

Scott: Exactly. In typical LPSs, submissions go into G7 shortly before a presentation, once the entire review process has been completed. The Intellectual Property team will present 10-50 different ASOTV ideas to the EN ASOTV team. Once ideas are selected they put into a pipeline where ample market research and product testing is completed before an inventor is officially awarded a G8 and the product is developed for market testing.

Q. What goes on during testing? What are you looking for?

Anna: To launch a product on TV, the campaign must be able to maintain profitability. In order to do so, your product must generate a consumer response significant enough to cover all the marketing costs associated with the product. Costs include: media costs, the cost of goods, fulfillment costs, etc. The testing environment is very dynamic and multiple variables can change the course of a campaign very quickly. Therefore, in most cases, marketers run initial media testing in stages to mitigate risk. With continued signs of life (response), the process is repeated until it can be predicted that the product has great potential for long-term profitability (aka success). Then, it is the magnitude of the rollout (a home run, a single, a double) that will remain a variable. In order to justify proceeding, a campaign’s results have to be scalable to make it a worthwhile pursuit.

Q. How long does the testing process typically take?

Anna: Simply put, it depends. Successful DRTV products are impulsive buys. The consumer has only 120 seconds to determine if they want/need the product. Marketers use their initial due diligence period (option period) to determine if they can manufacture a functioning product at an acceptable price point as well as to determine how to position the product to effectively communicate the marketing message to the target consumer.

Marketers use the testing process for another role. During the testing phase, the marketer’s goal is to determine if the infomercial will generate a large enough consumer response for the product’s campaign to be profitable. Evaluating response includes asking the following questions: Did enough consumers respond (call in or go online)? What networks/programs must be bought to reach the audience? Is there enough media inventory available? What are the media rates? Is the target consumer buying consistently? Can improvements or tweaks be made to the campaign improve response?

All the variables are analyzed and evaluated to ensure the infomercial and related messaging elicits an impulsive response from the targeted consumers. This testing phase will continue until the marketer can answer all the necessary questions about the consumer, their interest in the product and the product’s potential for success. Media testing typically takes between 30-120 days of testing. Yet, in some cases, it is longer due to the variables/challenges and/or obstacles encountered when initial testing begins.

Q.) Why are some products successes, while others fail?

Anna: Success is determined by the consumer. The consumers are the judges and they vote with their wallets. Their impulsive response guides marketers in their strategic decisions. DRTV is a great route for a product’s journey towards commercialization… when the stars align and the metrics prove workable! However, it should be noted the DRTV channel is only one route to the retail marketplace, so a product shouldn’t be considered a failure… it simply did not work under the given circumstances at this particular time on TV, but there are many other ways Edison Nation and our partners can bring your product to retailers.

Q.) If a product does not succeed during testing, does the inventor still have rights to it? Can he/she submit it to other companies or searches?

Scott: If a product does not succeed during testing we give the original inventor the option to transfer it to licensing without having to go through the process again. Edison Nation always gives an idea the best shot at success and just because an idea was not well received by DRTV consumers, doesn’t mean there isn’t interest for licensing. Edison Nation has multiple channels to take product ideas to market and we always like exhausting all options before returning IP to the inventor. The decision to transfer to licensing, however, is up to the inventor.

So far we’ve earned over $200 million in sales for our inventors, all at no risk to them. Is your idea the next big thing?

Even if you don’t have an invention idea right now you can still join Edison Nation for free and learn from our community why we’re the trusted source for bringing product ideas to market.

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7 Comments →The “As Seen On TV” Open Search: What Does it Mean?

Anna: No feedback is a good sign. This means your product is still under evaluation by a search partner. Our goal is to find your product a home and “”we will work all possible channels with various partners to do so.””

That was an excellent Q&A. It answered many of the questions that I myself had. I have one additional question. Once a submission has been red X’d, what would happen, if Edison Nation happened upon a situation where they thought a past submission was a perfect fit, but the inventor has not re-submitted it own their own? Has that ever occured?

Thank you, Derrick! We’re so glad the post was helpful to you! To answer your question, we would most certainly reach out to an inventor in the event we later felt there was an avenue for their product after the submission was no longer in our system. While not exactly the scenario you are describing, a similar example is with our Season 4 Everyday Edison, Greg Bruce. His particular situation was one where he chose to remove his submission though it had not been eliminated on our end. Because we felt so strongly about the potential of his product, however, our team reached out to him to encourage him to reconsider.

Luis, you are absolutely correct about the difference between a spot and an infomercial. Our ASOTV partners may test a product as a spot (60-120s) or an infomercial (up to 30 mins) simply depending on the product and its features. We have referred to both short-form and long-form scenarios in this post, however, we did not make that distinction clear, so thank you for your comment!